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Paddington Bear made his debut on the West End last night, and it might have been the cutest thing ever to step foot on stage.
The beloved bear has been stealing hearts for decades, only exacerbated by the release of the 2014 live-action comedy, which introduced the character to a whole new generation.
Now, the marmalade-loving bear has turned his talents to the stage, in Paddington: The Musical, which debuted on Saturday night.
The first look at the bear had been a closely guarded secret until the night of the performance, and it was worth the wait.
Paddington was portrayed by a puppet and by a person in an expertly designed costume, and it was heartachingly adorable.
In his signature blue duffel coat, the bear portrayed Paddington’s famous hard stare and according to critics, was still perfectly expressive even to those in the back row.
As the pictures began to appear online, fans were gobsmacked by the adorable on-stage Paddington, praising the show for delivering such a sweet-looking bear.
‘Not to be dramatic, but i would die for him,’ said zeglianswiftie.
‘Protect stage Paddington at all costs 😭,’ commented lewjefferies.
‘Two hearts, one bear. perfect casting,’ commented walmart_en on X.
‘Some characters never fade — they just keep stealing hearts in new ways. 🐻✨🎬,’ said thiscantbeyoufr.
‘At a time when entertainment keeps turning to AI and screens, a live puppet Paddington feels refreshing. Two real performers powering one gentle bear – that’s craft, not algorithm. Audiences are clearly craving authenticity again, even in family productions,’ said Impression88988.
Designer of the puppets and costume, Tahra Zafar, told the BBC that they were not going to reveal the secrets behind making the bear so perfect for stage.
‘I don’t want people to think about how we’ve done it. I just want people to love him.’
She did reveal that the team looked at ‘some very innovative ways’ to get Paddington to move, and added that traditional puppetry was ruled out.
While it might be a mystery as to how they made the bear so lovable on stage, it has been confirmed that the bear was portrayed in two ways.
The performers playing Paddington are James Hameed who plays Paddington off-stage performer and is a remote puppeteer.
The second performer is Arti Shah, who is an on-stage performer who plays the bear from inside a costume.
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